jr. high

Question
Is it legal for jr. high's to have "closed"(no parents around) tryouts at a public park? How bad are coaches by being biased by not giving kids a fair tryout? This school is notorious for being very unfair when it comes to tryouts. My son just had tryouts and did not make it.  He is a very good catcher.  The school had tryouts for 2 weeks, and not once did they have any of the catchers throwing to 2nd base.  He only got to tryout at 3rd one day.  The rest of the time he was at catcher.  (The coach's son is a catcher too, not hard to figure out)  The last day of practice, which was closed, he only got 10 minutes on the field, and not one ball hit to him.  I am very disgusted with this coach and I am wanting to give him a piece of my mind. (my son had to deal with coach during football and my son already felt this coach didn't like him.) It was very obvious to the kids what was going on.  At one point, he even called the players, from last year's team, over to the side of field and had a talk with them and no one else.  At practice, those players didn't even practice very hard.  They jogged around the bases and didn't run as fast as they could.  I hope this doesn't discourage my son from trying out from now on.  Any suggestions on how I can handle this?

Answer
I understand your concern & you are not the first to feel this way....

#1 - Is it legal?  Yes, there are no parameters regarding "fair & legal" as it pertains to try-outs unless that school has something in writing governing the same.

#2 - I also understand how, as a parent, you feel your child may not have or did not get the opportunity that you feel he deserved.  As a coaches view, most parents feel their child is ready for pro when they really do not even need to be on the field, but I was not there so I cannot speak to that matter.

#3 - A suggestion, call the school office & ask POLITELY to speak to the principal & athletic director on behalf of the matter.  Before you go, write down your honest concerns so you will stay on track & cover them one by one to them both.  Ask for a valid "redo" for your son.  Be professional & courteous or it will be a short meeting I promise.  Express your concerns openly & freely....Remember Michael Jordan did not make the basketball team until he was a junior in high school.

Lastly, in your own mind, be honest & think about your son's abilities.  Is he really as good as you think?  As he thinks?  Does he play select ball in the summer where you might get a written recommendation from the select coach?  Is he really another position player instead of a catcher?  Does he need extra & private baseball tutoring?  That's my specialty here in Tennessee.

Let me know how you respond & if a positive meeting occurs....I waited a few days so you would read this in a cooler & more open concept....Good luck to you & your son...

Thanks, Andy
423.605.3035

If this helps please rate me positively, if not then let me know back...Thanks again for the question.